Type FAST or DIE!! - 01/30/07 12:46 AM
I LOVE this game ! Thanks to the 2000 Blogs guy, I found this fabulous game on Ilsa's blog. And thanks to Jeff Turner and his couple of game posts, I've been dragging this game with me everywhere.
Even if no one else likes it, I get to have it everywhere I go.
Barely … (14 comments)
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Price Per Square Foot - A Dangerous Valuation Tool - 01/26/07 11:18 AM
More and more I see people printing out huge Xcel Spreadsheets and valuing property based on price per square foot.
Clearly no agent uses price per square foot as the primary valuation tool. Clearly no Appraiser uses price per square foot as the primary valuation tool. Why then is the general public … (10 comments)
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Condo Conversion - don't be forced into buying - 01/26/07 11:12 AM
The least happy people I saw last year, were the ones being forced out of their homes by the owner. People who rented single family homes when the owner decided to sell or people who lived in apartment buildings that become condo conversions.
Don't think you are forced into buying instead of … (2 comments)
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Finding Your New Home - 01/26/07 11:08 AM
How do you find your new home? Instead of looking at houses for sale in person or on the internet, first visit all of your friends. Ask them what they most like and dislike about their homes. Take notes. Write down the address of the homes you like most.
It always amazes … (0 comments)
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Bridle Trails State Park - Kirkland and Bellevue Washington - 01/25/07 02:28 AM
Bridle Trails State Park, a 482-acre day-use park, is well-known for its horse trails and equestrian shows. The forested park is on the northeast edge of the Seattle metropolitan area. The houses around Bridle Trails State Park on the South End are in "Bridle Trails Kirkland", while those to the west … (1 comments)
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The Neighborhoods of Kirkland Washington - 01/25/07 02:13 AM
The City of Kirkland has an interactive map. By clicking on the Neighborhoods, you can check out the building permits and their status.
Be sure to check out all of the features of the City of Kirkland Website. It is one of the very best and shows that for a quaint … (1 comments)
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Kirkland - My Kind Of Town - 01/25/07 02:00 AM
Kirkland, the City built with its Downtown on Lake Washington, is full of quaint charm and character. In the Seattle Area, Kirkland is one of the Cities in the area we call Eastside, along with Bellevue and Redmond, Washington.
This home with fabulous views of Mt. Ranier, Lake Washington and Downtown Seattle, is … (0 comments)
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Internet Home Search - 01/19/07 02:09 AM
It should come as no surprise to you that very often, the best homes sell quickly.
Sign up for two or three sites to email you listings as they come on market. I use two. I use the mls and I use www.searchingseattle.com I sign up AS my clients, so I … (4 comments)
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How Does the Buyer Pay Their Real Estate Agent? - 01/19/07 02:06 AM
Real Estate Commissions: By avoiding the subject , as the process does, you may be overpaying for the services you need in purchasing a home. If you are buying a property for more than $400,000, that is more likely to be the case than if you are buying your first condo … (6 comments)
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The Seattle Music Scene - Jimi Hendrix, et al - 01/18/07 12:09 AM
My partner Kim Harris offers his perspective on what drew him TO the Pacific Northwest in 1964 and KEPT HIM in Seattle since he got off the plane from Vietnam in 1969...
The History - The Tremendous Impact and Signficance of this area on the Music Industry (Kim's previous life and passion, as … (1 comments)
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"Frankspeak" on LAME MLS Rule - 24hrs to ON MARKET - 01/15/07 03:37 PM
This broad is lonely. You know, the kind of lonely that just has to be scratched...like an itch. So she says to me, she says, Frank, I just gotta get out there and get a man, and she starts putting on her coat. I say Whoa there...hold up, Babe. You ain't … (10 comments)
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Top 10 Reasons a buyer says - Let's Get Out of Here! - 01/15/07 12:09 AM
In David Letterman style, let's list the top ten things that make a buyer say "let's get out of here!!", when I am showing a house.
NUMBER TEN: DEAD BUGS LYING AROUND! That being said, I have to admit that not only have I sold properties with dead bugs lying around, I have … (2 comments)
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Excel Spreadsheets and Market Conditions - 01/14/07 08:53 PM
Last year I had a lot of techie clients. I work well with techie clients because when their excel spreadsheets start pointing them in the wrong direction, we can analyze their data using my expertise in the field, and start shifting things in the right direction.
Data is great...but it only goes … (2 comments)
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Days On Market - Don't Believe It - 01/14/07 08:33 PM
An agent recently asked why the Customer Printout from the MLS excludes days on market in his area, and the Client Version includes that information.
Every effort is made by the various MLS systems to avoid disseminating erroneous information to the public. All experienced agents know that they do not look at … (14 comments)
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Cancelling a condo sale based on the Resale Certificate - 01/13/07 02:36 AM
My client and I reviewed the Resale Certificate and cancelled his purchase today.
When you buy a condo, or condo-townhome, you do not know everything there is to know before you make an offer.
After you are in escrow, after the contract is "signed around", you get a resale certificate within ten … (9 comments)
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Allen Dalton and Glenn Kelman - 01/13/07 02:32 AM
I was ROTFLMAO reading Glenn's rendition of what happened at the Inman Conference where Glenn shared the stage with Allan Dalton...and apparently Zillow was there "didling with a microphone" when Glenn was looking for moral support. LOL Read Glenn's article, it is a HOOT!!
Allan Dalton is a fabulous speaker. If you've … (11 comments)
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Tax Deduction for PMI - 01/13/07 02:28 AM
My friend and colleague (disclosure) Anne Brown of AB Homelending and I have been discussing the fact that PMI is now tax deductible. Here are her thoughts:
"It's taken a long time, but finally Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI) is tax deductible. A loan over 80% loan to value (less than 20% … (0 comments)
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No FAIR! Can the Seller DO that? - 01/13/07 02:25 AM
Over the years, often the hardest part of this business is dealing with the "unfairness" of the realities of the real estate transaction. Even when everything is going exactly as it should, often someone is thinking that "It Just Isn't FAIR!"
When that someone is a newer agent, it is very difficult for … (0 comments)
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Here's how I REALLY feel - 01/13/07 02:22 AM
Let's hit this nail right on the head.
Truth is I'm not taking any bows for kudos and props on my blogging efforts to date, because I haven't yet said what really needs to be said.
Zillow is "good enough" because agents aren't.
Redfin is "good enough" because agents aren't.
Inspectors and Disclosure Forms … (97 comments)
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Remodeling instead of tearing down - Kirkland - 01/10/07 11:27 PM
This 1921 Bungalow was restored instead of being torn down.
Tear downs are prevalent in our town. Small 890sf bungalows with porches are torn down and replaced with new homes for $1,300,000 or more. The previous owner of this home added a huge 750sf master suite on the second floor in the … (6 comments)
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Saying "English is their second language" is not "politically correct" - 01/10/07 04:04 PM
Here's something I learned this year, that I found very interesting and obviously correct.
We often say "English is not their first language" when talking about the extra services needed and extra care needed when working with clients whose "First Language" is not English.
It was pointed out to me by someone from … (6 comments)
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It is just Who I Am - 01/09/07 02:20 PM
Right or Wrong, for Good or Bad, it is just Who I Am. I didn't "create a persona" for Active Rain, not do I intend to change my persona for it either.
I spend my days representing people who are trying very hard to do the right thing. I will not represent … (29 comments)
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We are not "in this together" - Agents have to STOP THAT! - 01/09/07 02:11 PM
We hear a lot about "professionalism" and yet many, many agents in this Country think we are all in some big club together. Clearly we are not.
When agents call me and tell me way too much about their client's faults and weaknesses I have two simultaneous thoughts:
1) I'm glad for the … (5 comments)
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Protect Your Buyer Client's Earnest Money - 01/09/07 02:02 PM
There are key points in the contract where a buyer can change their mind and receive their Earnest Money.
You have two choices:
1) Contact your client and say, if you have any second thoughts about this, TODAY is the day to "speak now or forever hold your peace!"
2) Hold your breath … (5 comments)
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Seattle and Real Estate Commissions - For BUYERS - 01/09/07 01:56 PM
One of the innovations in this area is for Buyers to be taking control of "their side of the fence". It is a difficult concept for agents and consumers to grasp.
Because we do not talk about commissions by and large, with good reason (like anti-trust laws) it makes it more difficult … (0 comments)
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STOP Giving Your Business Card to People Who Don't ASK For It - 01/08/07 03:29 PM
One thing I've noticed over the years is that agents who sell 5% of the homes I do, run out of business cards BEFORE I do. Seemed pretty odd to me.
Your number one job when speaking with a prospective client in person, is getting them to ask for your business card. … (7 comments)
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How does that blue thing on my door work? - 01/08/07 03:19 PM
The lockbox holds the key to your front door.
An agent has an electronic keypad that will open the box with an infra red beam after entering their identifying security code.
The box does not register who came into your home. The keypad in the agent's hand, when updated, is what records which … (4 comments)
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Having more than one Blog - 01/07/07 03:21 PM
While I do believe you need to write on more than one blog, Step 4 is not about having two or more of your own blogs. It is about having your own main blog AND being a guest writer for a Group Blog.
Here we have RainCityGuide and The PI Blog, your mileage … (5 comments)
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Your One Main Consumer Oriented Blog - 01/07/07 02:14 PM
In the Overview, the first step was to create One MAIN Consumer oriented blog.
Mine is with RealTownBlogs While from a technology standpoint, some do not feel it is the best blog platform, I have had a lot of success with it as long as the consumer is looking for a blog … (0 comments)
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A strategy for blogging - Overview - 01/07/07 01:58 PM
As with anything in life, Fail to Plan; Plan to fail.
That being said, I had not plan when I started blogging a year ago. I didn't know enough about the end product to have a plan. But after one year of being successful at acquiring clients from blogging, I can now … (1 comments)
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Mae West Advertising a Condo on the 24th Floor - 01/06/07 12:33 PM
Someone's article of yesterday sparked my thinking process. Would it be a really cute ad for a 24th Floor condo to have Mae West with a dialogue cloud saying, "Hey Big Boy, Why don't you stop on up and see me sometime?"
We call ourselves "marketers", but if we all just do … (2 comments)
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Remembering Agnes Piekarski - "Grandmother" - 01/05/07 01:16 AM
I've been thinking a lot about Grandmother today. Technically, she wasn't my Grandmother, though she is the great grandmother of my children on their father's side of the family.
Grandmother lived on a big farm in Massachusetts just over the Connecticut border. I only saw Grandmother on Columbus Day weekend every year, … (4 comments)
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Marketing to Generation Y - "You DO it FOR me" - 01/03/07 04:01 PM
This is my youngest, Andrea, age 18 - I think she took this photo with her cell phone when she was here at Thanksgiving, or my digital camera. I found it on my desktop when she left marked "For Mother").
Those of us who have Generation X or Generation Y children would … (0 comments)
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Is "Same Old, Same Old" GOOD ENOUGH? - 01/03/07 01:51 PM
There is really no better way to teach new agents than to give them the beginning rules of how to do things. You know, the little check lists we all received as new agents.
1) Listing Contract Signed
2) Lockbox ON
3) Flyers Done
4) Sign Up
5) Enter in MLS
But these are simply the … (5 comments)
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Relocation Specialist - It's Not All About Houses - 01/03/07 01:34 PM
I once "went the extra" mile to better understand my relocated clients, by having my husband take a job out of state, with full relocation benefits. (1996) I actually did that twice, but the first time it was for "educational" purposes, from my point of view.
Putting yourself in the shoes of … (5 comments)
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Easy Steps to More Meaningful Seller "Feedback" - 01/03/07 12:46 PM
When a Seller asks you for "feedback", you need to change what they want to know, with what they SHOULD want to know.
When a buyer doesn't like the house, it could mean many things that do not reflect poorly on the house at all, even though it may appear so, if … (39 comments)
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This image makes me very happy - 01/02/07 03:41 PM
I'm putting a few images on my Active Rain blog for my own benefit. This is one of my all time favorites.
There are many times when I wish I were back at this very day, curling her little bangs and fluffing her little tutu ad marveling at her tiny little feet.
Tina … (4 comments)
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Imposing MY "Values" on others - 01/02/07 03:05 PM
For my first 14 years in this business, I was a Realtor. I was very good, very clear and a "team player" in all respects. I had good client relationships. Good agent relationships. Everything was in essence, very honky-dorey.
Then I got "pushed" for lack of a better term, into starting a … (17 comments)
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Ethics: Truth vs. Loyalty - 01/02/07 02:15 PM
Code of Ethics: People think that following a Code of Ethics is some "be-all-end-all" branding of integrity. It really depends on how you view the code, and for whom the code of ethics was written.
Truth vs. Loyalty is one of those Right vs Right issues. Many erroneously assume the ethics is … (41 comments)
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How to be a "Kick Ass" Agent for your Client - 01/02/07 11:58 AM
Your Buyer Clients worry about losing their Earnest Money. Your Seller Clients worry about how long it will take for you to sell their home. Your agents worry about generating more leads. Your future buyer clients worry about whether or not the bubble is going to burst. Your future seller clients … (3 comments)
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The Russian Tea Room - NYC - 01/01/07 11:47 AM
This is a picture of me and my Mom standing outside of The Russian Tea Room in New York City. My Mom still lives in the Philadelphia Area and I am planning to visit her in February.
While in Philadelphia I will wander the downtown and see what others do not see. … (13 comments)
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